Brattonsville in the Revolution

Revolutionary War reenactors portray the Battle of Huck’s Defeat each July on the grounds of Historic Brattonsville.

THE PACE IS LEISURELY WHEN YOU stroll the grounds of Historic Brattonsville, but the centuries-old stories of family, courage and the struggle for independence are sure to get your imagination racing.

Here’s the original Bratton House, a 1½-story home where Col. William Bratton, his wife and their five children lived in the 1780s. Across the street is The Homestead, John Simpson Bratton’s 1823 plantation which served as a set during the filming of The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson. Over there is the Revolutionary War battlefield where South Carolina militiamen defeated British Loyalists in the famous Battle of Huck’s Defeat. Along the property’s southern edge is a recreated slave house, a poignant reminder of the men and women who performed the hard work of daily life in colonial South Carolina.

Historic Brattonsville is a 775-acre living history park near McConnells that explores the early days of the Upstate through the adventures of the Bratton family, who first settled in York County in the 1740s. “What the three generations of Brattons did was not unusual, but they are a great example of life in the region during this period,” says Kevin Lynch, site manager for York County Culture & Heritage Museums.

The park, served by York Electric Cooperative, includes 30 historic structures, two house museums and an 8½-mile network of backcountry walking and riding trails. Daily hands-on activities for kids make Brattonsville a family-friendly destination where children can ooh and aah over live hogs, chickens and sheep. Every Saturday is living history day, with costumed interpreters and volunteers populating the grounds and showing guests the seasonal chores and daily routines of an Upstate plantation.

In addition to the daily and weekly attractions, the park hosts festivals and special events throughout the summer and fall. One of the biggest annual events—the reenactment of the Battle of Huck’s Defeat—takes place this summer July 13-14. The program commemorates the 1780 skirmish in which Upcountry Patriots (known as Whigs) ambushed and decimated Loyalist troops who were raiding farms and threatening families under the command of Capt. Christian Huck. The fight set the stage for Patriot victories at King’s Mountain and the Battle of Cowpens, and marked a turning point in the American Revolution, Lynch says.

“This is where the backcountry Whigs started thinking, ‘We can beat these guys,’” he says.

On Sept. 14, the park will explore the history of African-Americans during the colonial era with a program called “By the Sweat of Our Brows.” Historic Brattonsville is an appropriate location, given that the plantation was home to 139 enslaved men, women and children. Descendants of some of those slaves will be on hand to pay tribute to their ancestors, says Mary Lynn Norton, community relations manager for York County Culture & Heritage Museums.

“That’s what we’re about—all of the people and things that connect us throughout the generations,” Norton says.

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Get There

Historic Brattonsville is located at 1444 Brattonsville Rd. in McConnells.

Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

General Admission: $6 for adults 18–59; $5 for seniors 60 and older; $3 for children ages 4 to 17; free for children age 3 and younger.